


The First "I Love You"

by golden_citylights



Series: Barba Drabbles [1]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-25
Updated: 2016-02-12
Packaged: 2018-05-16 04:29:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5814202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/golden_citylights/pseuds/golden_citylights





	1. The First "I Love You"

It was approximately 11:15 pm when you put your all time favourite novel down on what was now your nightstand. One year ago, you never would have pictured yourself living with him, much less dating him. Everyone at work still teased you about him and how he was made up because he had never been to your office in the time you’ve been together. You looked down at the book, the corners of the yellowed pages now almost completely rounded, and the cover held on by some scotch tape. This copy once belonged to your late grandfather, who had passed it along to you as a teenager; when you needed the comfort of home, you picked it up and re-read it, slipping away to the world the pages had painted for you in your mind years ago. 

The sight of the room around you felt oddly comforting - decor from your apartment tucked carefully into Rafael’s, had you wondering when he would notice. You chuckled when you thought of everything the two of you had gone through. How it had taken him about a week to finally ask you to move in with him, which was especially funny because he was always about ‘getting straight to the point’. The mountain of empty boxes sat in the hallway, in your line of vision, because of the bedroom door being slightly ajar to allow air to circulate. One downside to living with Rafael was having two apartments worth of things in one, because neither of you wanted to part with anything. The framed photo of you two at the first black tie event Rafael had begged you to go to stood out prominently on the wall across from your bed. It always made you smile, even though you never were one for having your photo taken, but when you saw it hanging up, you couldn’t dare ask him to take it down.

The sound of keys in the lock snapped you out of your reverie, making you look at the clock beside you. It read 11:27 pm, later than you had expected. You could hear Rafael putting his shoes on the rack and his coat in the hallway closet, as he did every night, but something seemed off to you. Normally he would’ve yelled to see where you were in the house by now, the silence was almost eery. He entered the bedroom and the aroma of alcohol and cigarette smoke hung on Rafael like gossamer, and it wasn’t hard to guess where he had been, judging by his silence. This morning he had been extremely worked up about his trial, almost dropping the coffee mug you had handed to him moments before when you leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. 

“Hey you” you said, trying to break the almost deafening silence  
“Hi” he replied somewhat quietly, and rather quickly  
“How did court go?” You asked, hoping his answer would be different from what you knew it would be  
He let out a small grunt, and you knew what that meant. He most certainly did not want to talk about it, not that he really could. You watched him walk into the adjoining bathroom, his posture making him look like a flower in the beginning of a drought. As Rafael showered, you checked your phone. Updates from family members and friends back home made you smile, and also made you wonder the significance of posting your entire life online. 

You heard the shower door open and close, and minutes later, Rafael emerged into the bedroom in his pajamas and crawled into bed beside you.  
“Do you want to talk?” You asked, hoping that maybe he’d open up the slightest amount, but all you got in return was silence. You both got into your usual sleeping positions - him, with his arm around your body, protecting you from who knows what, and you on your side, even though tonight did not seem like a night for cuddling. You sunk down into the mattress, and turned out the light beside you. 

“Hey Raf?” You asked tentatively, wondering if he had already fallen asleep  
“Hmm?”  
You paused for a second or two, debating what to say next. And you knew exactly what he needed to hear.  
“I love you.” You said, taking a deep breath and anticipating his response.  
He responded by inhaling loudly and squeezing you tightly against his body, making you feel right at home  
“I love you too. And by the way, I like what you’ve done with the place” he whispered in your ear, and gently kissing you on the cheek.


	2. Quick note

Hey everyone!  
Thank you all so much for your positive feedback on The First 'I Love You'! It means the world that you liked it, and I just wanted to let you all know that I do take suggestions/prompts, so if you have any ideas, please put them down below and I'll try my best to make them happen!


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